BOU AVENUEWilliams Peak
Williams Peak in the Chilliwack Valley of southwestern British Columbia
(BC) has long been on my peak-bagging to-do list. A moderately difficult ascent route for this
beautiful peak is described in Matt Gunn's Scrambles in Southwest British
Columbia and shares the same approach as the Williams Ridge hike as
described in Jack Bryceland's 103 Hikes in Southwestern British
Columbia. After spending a couple of
days
in Chilliwack, BC on a recent road trip, I drove up the Chilliwack Lake
Road on the morning of 21 August 2014 to climb Williams Peak. As
described by Gunn, I turned off the highway onto a rough road marked by a
brown signpost and parked my car about 100 metres into the trees at a
makeshift campsite.

Continuing along the rough road from the
campsite, I passed a white sign, labeled "Trail", before reaching a T-junction with a logging
road at the edge of a large clear-cut. Mentioned neither by Gunn
nor Bryceland, the unexpected clear-cut confused me greatly, and I wasted
a considerable amount of time going back and forth before finally
stumbling upon the correct trail (turn left
at T-junction and look for an overgrown path on the right with a very
easy-to-miss cairn). After crossing the clear-cut, I began climbing in
earnest up the forested slope on a trail that more resembled a vertical
skid mark in the dirt. The 900-metre ascent from the valley floor
to the ridge crest is a relentlessly steep grind with only two
dilapidated cabins along the way to break up the monotony of the forest.
Hiking along the undulations of Williams Ridge was only marginally more interesting, but at least
the angle of ascent is less severe here. Only near the trail's end
at a rocky knoll did I finally break out of the trees and get an unobstructed view of the
magnificent pyramidal form of Williams Peak.

From the trail's end, I
tried to stay high and minimize elevation loss as I
crossed a tedious rocky basin to reach an obvious access ramp on Williams
Peak's southwest ridge. Cairns and bits of flagging helped me to stay on
track in the basin. Contrary to its benign appearance, the access ramp is
both steep and loose, and I was happy to get through this nasty section
quickly. At the top of the ramp, I veered over to climber's right before
turning up an obvious grassy gully for the final 200 metres of steep but
easy hiking to the summit.

My ascent had taken a whopping 7.5 hours, and as
I went about my usual summit chores, I was keenly aware of the waning
daylight and the likelihood of hiking out in the dark. I spent about
30
minutes on the summit before commencing my descent down the slippery
gully and ramp. Crossing the basin was less tedious on the way out, but
it was nearly sunset by the time I got across and regained the trail. I
continued hiking out along Williams Ridge in growing darkness. This
section seemed interminable, and I cursed every annoying uphill section I
had to climb back over. The final 900-metre plunge back to the valley
floor was bone-jarring but relatively quick. My headlamp and hiking poles
really proved their worth here. Upon returning to my car, I drove back to
the highway and headed to Hope, BC to check into a comfortable motel for
the night.

The trail heads steeply up this
forested slope.

This is the first of two dilapidated
log cabins along the trail to the ridge top.

Here is the second cabin.

A break in the trees along Williams
Ridge grants this view to the south of Mount Rexford (centre) and
Illusion Peaks (far right).

Clouds partially obscure Slesse
Mountain to the southwest.

Another break in the trees provides a
first glimpse at Williams Peak.

In front of Williams Peak is the rocky knoll
(right of centre) which is the end of the hiking trail.

The top of Foley Peak sticks up above
the surrounding clouds to the northwest.

At trail's end is this unobstructed view of Williams
Peak.

The scramble route traverses across
the rocky bowl toward a steep ramp (right of centre).

Despite being only Class 2 hiking, the
traverse is quite tedious.

The access ramp leads to a grassy
gully on the south face of Williams Peak.

The grassy gully provides a
straightforward route to the summit.

Sonny holds up the register on the summit of Williams
Peak (2116 metres). Click
here to view a 360-degree panorama video.

Here is a closer look at the plaque
that is bolted to the summit rocks.

A rather unique metal tag is attached
to the register container.

Clouds completely obscure the tops
Welch Peak and Foley Peak to the northwest.

To the southeast is Chilliwack Lake.

A very faint rainbow appears to the
left of the summit.

This is looking down the grassy gully
from near the summit.

Welch Peak and Foley Peak finally make
an appearance as the clouds roll away.